After an extended hiatus from recording, 2006's Choreography (2006), demonstrated a remarkable growth in her songwriting and performance. Her latest album, Interplanetary Traveler, was released in Jaunary 2010.
Hoffman has also participated in a number of other musical projects from time to time.
Build A Home
Lauren Hoffman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This city and her streets,
A cardboard sign reads help me
And I walk on,
And I run.
I touch you and you feel me,
I'm a river, I'm burning, I'm a thief,
I leave you and your beauty and your teeth.
Can you see this blaze flared up,
From the spark of you,
Now this trick I've played makes me your slave,
I'll burn you out, I'll start again.
I saw my name in your hand,
I turned around and ran,
But to you or from you it's all the same,
To you or from you it's the same thing.
He says we're all alone,
He builds himself a home,
He builds it out of hair and teeth and fingernails and bones,
He hides it in his heart,
Then he tears it all apart,
He plasters all the pieces up with glue and calls it art,
He's a man with two left shoes,
He's a pretty cockatoo,
His song is full of sadness but he's beautiful in blue.
I need to be alone tonight,
Alone tonight.
The lyrics to Lauren Hoffman's "Build A Home" convey a sense of restlessness and a desire for independence. The opening line "I need to be alone tonight" sets the tone for the entire song, with the singer expressing a need to escape from the city and find their own path. The reference to a cardboard sign that reads "help me" implies a sense of detachment from society and perhaps a distrust of others.
The second verse contains a more abstract metaphor, with the singer describing themselves as a river, a fire, and a thief. These images suggest an unstable, almost dangerous persona that cannot be relied upon. The line "I leave you and your beauty and your teeth" is particularly poignant and could be interpreted as an expression of guilt for mistreating someone they care about.
The third verse introduces a new character, "He", who constructs a home out of unconventional materials such as hair, teeth, and bones. This character is described as "beautiful in blue" but also as someone who tears apart their own creations and rebuilds them in a cycle of destruction and creation. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for artists who constantly create and destroy their own work in a quest for artistic fulfillment.
Overall, "Build A Home" is a complex, introspective song that touches on themes of independence, guilt, and the creative process.
Line by Line Meaning
I need to be alone tonight,
I desire to spend the night by myself
This city and her streets,
The streets of this city
A cardboard sign reads help me
A cardboard sign asking for aid
And I walk on,
I continue to move forward
And I run.
I hasten away
I touch you and you feel me,
When I touch you, you perceive me
I'm a river, I'm burning, I'm a thief,
I am likened to a river, burning, and thieving
I leave you and your skin and your beauty,
I depart from you and your physical aesthetics
I leave you and your beauty and your teeth.
I leave you and your attractive visage, along with your teeth
Can you see this blaze flared up,
Do you notice this sudden blaze that has ignited?
From the spark of you,
This blaze has been ignited by your presence
Now this trick I've played makes me your slave,
The strategy I used resulted in me becoming your servant
I'll burn you out, I'll start again.
I will eradicate you and begin anew
I saw my name in your hand,
I observed my name in your grasp
I turned around and ran,
I pivoted and fled
But to you or from you it's all the same,
Whether I approach or retreat, the outcome is equal
To you or from you it's the same thing.
The identical result will occur, whether I advance or retreat
He says we're all alone,
He declares that every one of us is solitary
He builds himself a home,
He erects a dwelling for himself
He builds it out of hair and teeth and fingernails and bones,
He constructs it utilizing human hair, teeth, fingernails, and bones
He hides it in his heart,
He conceals it within his heart
Then he tears it all apart,
Subsequently, he shatters it completely
He plasters all the pieces up with glue and calls it art,
He mends all the fragments with glue, designating it as art
He's a man with two left shoes,
He's a gentleman with two identical shoes for his left foot
He's a pretty cockatoo,
He's a charming cockatoo bird
His song is full of sadness but he's beautiful in blue.
His melody is sorrowful, yet he is lovely in blue attire
I need to be alone tonight,
I must be by myself this evening
Alone tonight.
By myself for the night
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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